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| Hannan will speak at
October Ministerium Gathering |
The Rev. Shauna Hannan, assistant professor of homiletics at Southern Seminary, will be the presenter for the Synod Gathering of the Ministerium at the Quality Inn at Virginia Beach on Oct. 13-15. A former parish pastor in Minnesota, she holds degrees from Concordia College and Luther Seminary and she has taught at several theological institutions. She is completing a doctorate of philosophy at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Pastor Frank Honeycutt of Ebenezer, Columbia, S.C., and formerly of St. John, Abingdon, had planned to speak at the gathering but cancelled because of family matters. | |
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| Lutherans in the news |
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Roanoke College Chemistry Professors Ben Huddle and Jack Steehler have been awarded a three-year grant of almost $100,000 from the National Science Foundation for a project to develop new curricular materials bringing real-life applications into the laboratory. Also at Roanoke, Charlote Parks has been appointed vice president of resource development, overseeing alumni and parent programs and church relations. She formerly was chief development officer at the Hill Center in Durham, N.C. The college's Management Institute is accepting nominations for its 2009 Management Program. Lutheran Day at Roanoke attracted about 20 high school students and their families who toured the campus and learned how to choose a college.
St. Mark's, Roanoke, will dedicate a columbarium and landscaped garden on Oct. 5. The congregation has opened David's Kingdom Childcare Center, a ministry for children aged 24 months through 12 years, with a capacity of 50. Pastor Timothy Anderson of St. Mark's has accepted a call to serve at King Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minn. He will be returning to his native state after eight years at St. Mark's.
Marion College Alumnae Association will hold a luncheon gathering on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 12:30 at Graves Mountain Lodge, Syria.
Virginia Interfaith Center, an advocacy coalition of the Virginia Synod and 20 other faith groups, has moved to a new headquarters on East Franklin Street in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom. The center moved from Centenary United Methodist Church on East Grace Street to a "green" building, with low-electricity lighting and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning.
St. Andrew, Portsmouth sent 80 shoeboxes filled with treasures to children around the world last year and the congregation is preparing to participate again in 2008. One recipient was Amedi, 9, who lives in a remote village in Uganda. His shoebox contained a booklet telling the story of Jesus Christ in his own language. His family read the story and eight are attending church. The shoeboxes contain coloring and picture books, puzzles, toys, pencils and toothbrushes.
Emmanuel, Viginia Beach, sponsored a concert/fund raiser in honor of Samantha Trost, who is fighting bone cancer. The Virginia Beach chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is matching donations up to $2,000.
At Southern Seminary, a dedication and naming ceremony was held for 12 apartments and a children's playground. Over $1.2 million in gifts were recognized by the 160 students, faculty and staff. The seminary is encouraging others to donate to the Hillcrest apartment complex. Twenty-eight apartments and an avenue are available for naming. Sandra Cline has joined the seminary as associate director of development and alumni relations.
At Resurrection, Fredericksburg, two seminarians are progressing toward ordination. David Drebs, an intern in New Jersey, will complete work at Philadelphia Seminary next year. Dan Kuckuck is starting his second year at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Richele Davis is the new director of Christian education at Christ, Fredericksburg. A new member of the congregation, she has a teaching background.
Retired Pastor Richard Berry of St. Paul, Strasburg, was the homecoming preacher for St. Paul's, Edinburg, on Sept. 14. He has served at Christ, Bristol, Tenn., St. Mark, Springfield, and Grace, Fort Washington, Md. His father, the late Pastor Wallace Berry. was homecoming preacher in 1950.
Lavelva Bowers Stevens, Trinity, Pulaski, was named the 2008 Sweet Adeline of the Year by the Wilderness Road Chorus of Sweet Adelines, a barbershop singing group. Stevens is music minister at Holy Trinity, Wytheville.
At Holy Trinity, Lynchburg, the youth group participated in an Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk, raising funds to combat Alzzheimer's, the sixth leading cause of death in the nation.
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| Mauney asks candidates to remember the poor |
Speaking from the Capitol steps in Washington last month, Bishop Jim Mauney called on candidates for office to remember the poor and give specific proposals to alleviate poverty.
In a prayer vigil sponsored by a coalition of the ELCA and 20 other national and international organizations, Mauney was one of seven speakers during a "Fighting Poverty with Faith: A Week of Action" event. Bread for the World, National Council of Churches and Catholic Charities were among the organizations backing the call to remember the poor. (In the photo, Mauney is backed by the Rev. Jim McDonald of Bread for the World (left) and the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine.)
"Food closets, food banks, community feeding programs and shelters by the tens of thousands of programs with hundreds of thousands of volunteers are fighting poverty with faith," Mauney said. At the same time, he said, the candidates should be speaking about the poor because there are more than 38 million people in poverty.
Domestic feeding programs costing $51 billion serve almost half of the nation's infants and one in five Americans so this is a time for candidates to address the care for the entire pre-natal time of infants, the bishop said.
"Let us make sure," he said, "that any stimulus or recovery measures are targeted at those people and programs most in distress." He pointed to the need for food stamps, unemployment insurance, child support enforcement, health care and home energy assistance.
Congress should provide disaster relief where needed, reform the child tax credit and lower the eligibility threshold of families earning only $8,500, which will enable people living in poverty to have more disposable funds, according to Mauney.
"We as Christians remember how St. Paul spoke to the Corinthians: 'For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.' As our Lord remembered and zealously died and rose for us, so let us remember the poor and zealously act for them."
The bishop's prayer was addressed to those who seek office, the leaders of the land and all who serve the nation, who minister to others and for those in poverty.
Mauney was one of 28 ELCA bishops who attended a Washington briefing and discussed poverty issues with members of Congress.
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How does a pastor spend a sabbatical?
by Pastor Martha Miller Sims |
Ministry for rostered leaders and for lay people in our vocations in the church and the world is difficult and serious work. In a poem, Mary Oliver describes an aspect of God that we might miss in the midst of ministry.
Creator God has eyes of gratitude and awe,
willing to notice, to hear, to be astonished,
God who dreams, discovers, imagines.
This is something of what we encounter of God when we observe Sabbath. Sabbath is time set apart from our normal schedule, work, pressure to produce, for paying attention to God who notices us and all creation; the God who dreams, imagines and plays. In Sabbath time God calls us to notice and be awestruck by creation, to rediscover our relationships, imagine, dream, enjoy new things.
God, who rested after creating, calls us to take our rest. Observing Sabbath to rest, to worship, to be restored in body, mind, spirit, and relationships, is good stewardship of the gifts God has given us, and a healthy acknowledgment that ministry is not dependent completely on what we do.
For those engaged in ministry, sabbatical is rooted in this understanding of Sabbath. The congregation I serve, Grace, Winchester, graciously provided me with time for a sabbatical this year. I am grateful to them for what was a rich time of rest, renewal, and study. I am also grateful to the people of the Louisville Institute, from whom I received a grant to help pay for sabbatical expenses.
During my sabbatical I started a two-year program of training in Spiritual Direction, Sursum Corda, in South Carolina. Among other things, it requires a lot of reading and two week-long residencies at St. Christopher Retreat Center on Seabrook Island. I was also trained in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, something that has been useful to me in ministry.
I read books on desert spirituality while visiting my family in Tucson, Arizona, where I grew up, enjoyed my favorite restaurants there and soaked up the beloved landscape. My husband, George, and I spent time relaxing near a lake in Virginia. In the mornings, I read books on ministry and spent time praying and journaling while watching the fishermen.
People ask how sabbatical has helped me. The study and reading have given me new things to share with the congregation. I have a renewed sense of God's presence and the joy of prayer. Spending time with George and staying connected to family has become a higher priority.
The sabbatical provided space for more relaxed, imaginative reflection on ministry at Grace as we engage in long-range planning. It provided more shock-absorption. I still feel stress and pressure, but now I don't feel every bump in the road. In my interactions with people I am able to be more present and less anxious about what I need to get done. Time seems to have more volume. I have better boundaries and clearer priorities.
I was very tired before sabbatical, and needed the gift of rest, and to lighten up and breathe. Sabbath time, set apart weekly, taken as an extended period, or even in daily doses, helps us catch our breath, and gives space for God's Spirit to breathe new life into us.
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Disaster services after hurricanes
by Debbie Mintiens |
(Debbie Mintiens of Salem, Mt. Sidney, reports on her work as a disaster action team leader in Texas during the recent Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.)
I have worked after Hurricanes Isabel in 2003, Frances in 2004 and Katrina in 2005. My first deployment this year was after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. I was notified on a Thursday afternoon to be on standby and by Saturday afternoon I was in Dallas Tex.. My first week was spent in Longview, Tex., where I was site manager for a kitchen that was feeding about 1,000 evacuees from Louisiana.
The Southern Baptist Convention does the cooking from kitchen trailers and the Red Cross provides and distributes the food. Two hot meals are provided each day. At dinner, a cold (cereal) breakfast is also distributed.
As Gustav was coming on shore, with the local EOC, we were planning for additional local people to be in shelters as they became flooded from their homes but Gustav was kind to us and went east.
A site manager is responsible for coordinating with the cooking crew and the local EOC. Serving 3,000 meals a day the kitchen has about five Red Cross emergency response vehicles (ERVs) with two drivers in each and a ground crew of about 12 people.
Then Ike was coming--by the time I got back to headquarters in Fort Worth, most of the Red Cross people had been redeployed throughout the Gulf, with a staging set up in Orlando. Ike came to Texas.
At Red Cross headquarters (HQ), the plan is to stage in an area close to where the hurricane may come on shore but still out of harm's way. Once the hurricane hits, the headquarters is moved to a more central location. I always work at mass care, one of many, many departments.
Mass care does sheltering and feeding; logistics, how to get people supplies from here to there; staffing, arranging where all the workers will be housed; communications, including phones, computers and ham radios. Communications can move a headquarters and set up all new networking within a 12 -hour period. Mass care also includes nurses, mental health, public relations, government liaison, fund raising, client services, health and welfare and I'm sure I'm missing a few.
Not many people were left in Fort Worth, as Ike response kicked into gear. The first day two of us assigned 200+ people to staff evacuee sheltering and the beginning of setting up new kitchens. I stayed in headquarters for Ike and was responsible for getting our feeding staffing up and running. We started out with four kitchens and by the time I left we were up to kitchen #34. Some of these kitchens were what's called mega kitchens which could put out 80,000 meals a day.
Headquarters is what I call organized chaos. Five people are talking to you at the same time and each has an emergency situation that needs to be taken care of right away. Not everybody can handle the high stress.
I spent the first week sleeping in staff shelters, sometimes on a cot and sometimes on the floor. About 50+ people were sleeping in a gymnasium. The hours are long--12 -14 hours a day. When I was in headquarters, my phone never stopped ringing, leaving little time for sleep several nights. It's very easy to forget to eat and drink properly. In the 20 days I was there I had one day off when we were waiting for Ike.
In disaster work many strong friendships are developed. As I was rushing through headquarters one day, of the hundreds of people, I looked up and there was recognition. Penny! Debbie! It was Pennie and her husband, Tom. We had worked together in a kitchen back during Hurricane Isabel. There were such a fun couple and it was great to see them again.
I started volunteering with the local Red Cross chapter in 2001. A disaster action team can respond to a house fire within one hour of a request-after a family has significant loss from fire or flooding. Teams respond with comfort kits containing toiletry items and blankets. When I am on call, I respond any time, day or night.
The local team also will open shelters for large-scale flooding or ice storms. I have responded to hazardous material cleanups, search and rescue operations and wildfires, supplying food and water to the responders.
I work for the Virginia Department of Transportation and the state gives employees 80 hours of disaster relief leave. A state of emergency must be declared by a government official and a request for my specialized training must be received from the Red Cross to VDOT. Ike hit the day I was supposed to come home so I ended up spending another week there, using my vacation time. I got home late Friday evening, slept a lot and figured out where I was in my personal life before I left.
(Debbie Mintiens has ACTS certification and is coordinator of the Synod's ACTS program. She has been a Sunday School teacher, member of council and the choir at Salem church. She serves on the Synod Christian Education committee and has assisted at synod assemblies. She has 24 years of VDOT service and works as assistant materials engineer in the Staunton District.)
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| Six interns serve in synod congregations |
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Six seminary interns are serving in Virginia Synod congregations in 2008-2009. They are: Elisabeth Anne Zant, Gloria Dei, Hampton; Rachel Ann Meier, Christ, Roanoke, and Brandon Oaks; Virgil F. Cain, Holy Trinity, Wytheville; Brian B. Chaffee, Grace, Rural Retreat, and the Attoway-Kimberlin Parish; Michael W. Hughes, St. Mark, Yorktown. and Eric Moser, Lakeside, Littleton, N.C..
Zant, a native of Hillsboro, Wis., graduated from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, and went on to the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. She has worked as a certified nursing assistant, a waitress and with two advocacy groups.
Meier, daughter of Pastors Scott and Laura Meier of the Louisville area, graduated from Wittenberg University and has completed two years at Southern Seminary. She works part-time at Christ, Roanoke, and also leads worship services for Brandon Oaks retirement community and nursing home residents. She has been a camp counselor and a seamstress in a costume shop. She is engaged to Christopher Laughlin, a senior at Gettysburg Seminary.
Cain, a native of Union Bridge, Md., is a graduate of Western Maryland College. He worked three years in each of three jobs-in health insurance, for a Baltimore law firm and in workers compensation for a Maryland state agency. He is attending Gettysburg Seminary.
Chaffee, who has lived in Erie, Pa., Pittsburgh and New York City, graduated from Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pa., and is attending Gettysburg Seminary. He worked as a financial counselor for patients of a large hospital system. He serves at Grace and St. Paul churches, Rural Retreat, as well as the four rural congregations in the Attoway-Kimberlin Parish in Wythe and Smyth counties. He alternates with lay leaders in leading worship there.
Hughes, a native of Mansfield, Ohio, is a graduate of Capitol University and he attends Trinity Seminary. He worked as a program director at Camp Mowana in his hometown for five years. He and his wife, Cory, have a son, Brennan, and a daughter, Emelyn.
Moser, a native of Boyertown, Pa., is a graduate of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and he attends Gettysburg Seminary.
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| Children's Home alumni meet for homecoming |
Many alumni of the old Lutheran Children's Home of the South gathered on their former Salem grounds, now the Elizabeth Campus of Roanoke College, on Sept. 6 to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the organization now operating as Lutheran Family Services, at a homecoming picnic.
Julie Swanson, executive director of LFS, welcomed the alumni and urged them to share their memories with the new History Room she has established at the LFS Roanoke office. She recalled that the institution's focus has shifted from care of orphans to foster children, adoption services and the Minnick Education Centers.
LFS honors the alumni, their families and the people who did their best to provide a place of safety, learning and care, she said. LFS celebrates "the continuing spirit of community that has connected the alumni and their dedication to one another." Swanson posed for a photo with Garnie Huffman (left) of Moneta; Frances Thornburg Bost, Newton, N.C., and Betty Thornburg Kennedy, Lexington, N.C. Swanson said she hopes to have another homecoming picnic in five years.
Also, Dan Friesland, an alumnus of the old home and now a Salem developer, announced the construction of an ambulatory surgical center on former Children's Home land. He said J. M. Turner & Co. of Roanoke will manage construction of a 32,000-square-foot short stay surgical facility. The ambulatory surgical center will be part of a network of Symbion Healthcare of Nashville, Tenn.
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| Men in Mission to build shower trailer for disasters |
Virginia Synod Lutheran Men in Mission (VLMM) have launched a new Disaster Relief Project-they are starting to raise $24,000 for a mobile shower trailer to be used by residents and volunteers in a disaster area. When the trailer is not needed for disasters, the men intend for it to be used by temporary housing organizations.
The VLMM board approved a recommendation for start of a fund-raising campaign to purchase a trailer, shell, supplies and equipment. The men hope to build the trailer by Sept. 1, 2009. Contributions for the mobile shower trailer may be sent to Dolph Moller, VLMM treasurer, at 1442 Tannery Circle, Midlothian, VA 23113-2644. Information on the project may be obtained from Leroy Hamlett at hamletts@firstva.com.
VLMM is planning a 2009 Men's Gathering on April 24-26 at Roslyn Center in Richmond. The theme, "Ambassadors for Christ-the Vision, the Direction, the Challenge," will be explored by Bishop Jim Mauney, presenter, and Pastor Chip Gunsten, assistant to the bishop and chaplain for the event.
The VLMM board agreed to participate in the Oct. 10-12 work weekend at Camp Caroline Furnace. The biggest project planned is to caulk and paint the exterior of the chapel.
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| A September letter from Rwanda
by Robin Strickler |
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(Robin Strickler of Muhlenbegr, Harrisonburg, writes of progress in the Rwanda School Project.)
In America, Labor Day has passed and it is the season of "Back to School." I remember expeditions for new shoes, notebooks, erasers and pens. Today families are shopping for flash drives and graphing calculators!
In Rwanda, we have finally been blessed with rain and Primary Six students nationwide are gearing up for their October and November national exams. Those who can afford it (about 15% of primary graduates) will go on to high school, and a very few top scorers on the exams will win free seats at national schools.
At the Rwanda School Project, we are in overdrive. ETO Technical School in Kibungo is building chairs, desks and tables for us in their carpentry workshop. The Koinonia Foundation called us up with a fabulous offer of 500 books from Books for Africa, including many textbooks, which are now being cataloged. Elaine Kasimatis and I are interviewing teachers and conducting teacher training, and Moses, our administrative assistant, is ordering uniforms, searching for a copy machine, printing school stationery and getting us a post office box. Meanwhile, the Governing Board is dividing into committees to determine scholarship guidelines, school fees, recruitment policy and more.
Women in the Kayonza and Rwamagana congregations are weaving baskets to raise money and church volunteers are ready to assist with building. We've launched an 11-week English class in Kibungo to give us an opportunity to mentor our English teacher, a young man with great energy and enthusiasm. During the summer, Expeditionary Learning Field Advisor Deborah Otto spent some of her vacation time with us, giving valuable insights and ideas on the planning and start-up process, and getting her first sight of hippos at Akagera National Park!
We are all ready to start in January except we need a building! We had an unfortunate and frustrating delay with an architect who didn't have the skills needed -- a setback of two precious months. After a lot of sleepless nights and stressful days, I can say that we are back on track: we have a new architect with engineering background, a plan for a simple rectangular multipurpose building to get us started, and we're halfway down the road on funding. Time is of the essence but we think w can still manage-with help. With another $100,000, we can proceed with construction and have a place to pioneer a secondary school focused on sustainability, a school that promotes inquiry-based learning -- a very different kind of school from most of what is on offer in Rwanda.
We think this is the kind of teaching that can give students the problem-solving and coping skills they need in a nation engaged in an astonishing and hugely challenging recovery after genocide, a nation still besieged by poverty but struggling hard to make long-lasting and significant change. The pace of positive change here is palpable -- and we want to be a part of it!
(Robin Strickler may be reached at www.rwandaschoolproject.org )
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| Six work in Servant Summer |
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Six young adults, including two from Virginia Synod, came from ELCA Regions 7, 8 and 9 for orientation at Signal Knob Retreat Center at Strasburg before serving for eight weeks in Servant Summer projects up and down the East Coast. The program was funded by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Khristopher Nguyen of Bethel, Winchester, worked at Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida. John Forys of Yorktown served in the city manager's office at Clearwater, Fla. Others worked in adoption for a Georgia agency, coordinating volunteers at a Mississippi camp and hosting service groups visiting the Ground Zero site in New York City.
During the service, the young adults "reflected on the ways that God calls each of us to serve and use our faith in daily life," said Sandra Holland, coordinator of the project and associate director for ministry in Region 9 at Columbia, S. C.
The young adults are teamed with a Lutheran mentor who provides guidance and spiritual direction at each site. They serve in Lutheran social service agencies, homeless ministries, local governments and camps. At the end of the service, they write a reflection paper on their experiences. Twenty-six young adults have participated since the program began three years ago.
After the orientation, the group worked one afternoon with Habitat for Humanity in Winchester.
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| Rubongoya relates faith and reason |
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Prof. Joshua Rubongoya of the Roanoke College Public Affairs Department, talked about the compatibility and confluence of faith and reason in the classroom at a faculty lecture Sept. 18. His talk was the first Faith and Reason lecture of the school's academic year.
Rubongoya, faculty moderator at the college and a lay leader at Central United Methodist Church in Salem, said faith is directed more toward Christ. "As a Christian, I see faith linked with reason." In the ways faculty relate to students with humility and modesty, there is a confluence of faith and reason, he said. "You are human," he told his fellow faculty, "and they are human."
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| Retreat for mature adults on Oct. 21-22 |
A Senior Adult Retreat for persons 50 or older on the theme, "You're Never Too Old," on Oct. 21-22 will be led by Pastor Brad Hales of Reformation, Culpeper, at Signal Knob Retreat Center, Strasburg. Hales, synod coordinator for congregational transformation and senior adult ministry, said the event will provide mature adults an opportunity to grow in their faith, relationships and knowledge of scripture. Study, fellowship, worship, recreation and discussion are on the agenda.
The cost of the two-day event is $100, covering two nights' lodging, meals and study materials. Nineteen slots were available in late September. Registration forms and checks may be sent to Hales at Reformation Church, 415 S. Main St., Suite 101, Culpeper 22701. | |
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THE VIRGINIA LUTHERAN
A MONTHLY NEWS PUBLICATION OF THE VIRGINIA SYNOD, ELCA
Editor: George Kegley
Voice: 540-366-4607; E-mail: georgekegley@verizon.net
Post: 301 Tinker Creek Lane, NE, Roanoke, VA 24019
Deadline for submission of articles is the 10th of each month.
Any portion of this publication may be reprinted
for use in local church publications with appropriate credit. | |
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